Today, after Morning Work TIme and a very short Morning Meeting, we got right to work on Writer's Workshop - working to perfect our pieces for the Writer's Celebration on Tuesday morning. We finished the illustrations, as well as rewriting the pieces, AND practicing reading them out loud. (If you could practice some more over the weekend, that would be super!)

In the middle of Writer's Workshop, Sasha's moms came in to read two books for her birthday (and brought fruit snacks to eat - YUM!!). Then we sang (with instruments, of course) Happy Birthday to Sasha.

Then we finished up Writer's Workshop, and

Today, after Morning Work Time and a very short Morning Meeting, we spent quite a lot of time working on our writing for the Writer's Celebration next week. Today, the kids worked on their illustrations, and also practiced reading their pieces. After that, we headed up to the music room for class with Mr. Hofmann.

When we got back down to our room, Ms. Barb was here for what might be the last reading session - she brought some very fun books: Leaonardo the Terrible Monster and The Giving Tree. After that, it was time to pack up and head home!

Today, after Morning Work Time and Morning Meeting, we had exploration time in math - the kids each had a tub of Math Tools on their table, and they rotated around to each table for free exploration. After that, we made another page for our Kindergarten Memory books - they are really coming along, and looking pretty cute!

When we finished with the Memory Book page, we headed up to the computer lab for our time there. When we got back down to our classroom, Ms. Barb (Ryan E.'s mom) came in to read to us again - she read two books:

After all of that, it was time to pack up and head home.

Enjoy your weekend, and remember that there is no school on Monday!!

Today, after Morning Work Time and Morning Meeting, we worked on the pieces of writing that we are getting ready for our Writer's Celebration. Each kid read their writing to a partner, and then the parter helped them think of "reader questions" (questions that a reader would have after reading their work) - then they went back to write and answer those questions.

After writing, we worked on another page for our kindergarten memory books, and then headed up to the music room for class with Mr. Hofmann.

When we got back down to our classroom, we took a bit of a field trip. We went across the street to see what the big kids were up to at Field Day. The kindergartners don't participate in Field Day, but I wanted them to see what it is all about, for next year. Plus, it was good to get outside, too. By the time we got back to our room, it was time to pack up and head home!

Today, after Morning Work Time and Morning Meeting, we did math and art, kind of at the same time - we practiced writing numbers again, and we also worked on our May self-portraits to hang on our wall. After that, we worked on a page that will go into our kindergarten Memory Book that we will be assembling in the coming weeks. When we finished with that, we worked on our writing pieces for the Writer's Celebration.

After all of that, we headed up to the computer lab for our time there, and then it was time to pack up and head home. Time flies!

Today, after Morning Work Time and Morning Meeting, we celebrated Nicholas' brithday. We sang and played our instruments loudly, and then Nicholas' dad read two books: Duck on a Bike, and Bear Wants More. After the fun and excitement, we had Writer's Workshop. The kids are doing some really nice writing - they are excited about it.

After writing, we headed up to the Media Center for class with Mrs. Hennen. When we got back down to our room, we had reading - the kids changed the "just-right" books in their bookbags, and then read them. The books are getting harder, but the kids are up for it!

After that, we couldn't resist going outside for a little recess. After that, it was time to pack up and go home!

Today, after Morning Work TIme and Morning Meeting, we read a couple of books by David McPhail (Pig Pig Goes to Camp and Pigs Ahoy). We read them for enjoyment, first, but also because they are well-written and hopefully gave the kids some ideas that they can use in their writing.

After the books, we had Writer's Workshop. The kids wrote for about 20 minutes today - and all words (no pictures!). They did a super job.

After writing, we worked on math. We talked about number lines with varying scales (counting by 1s, 10s, 5s, and 2s) and how to show that on a number line.

After math, we headed outside in the beautiful weather for a short recess, and then up to the computer lab for our time there. After all of that, it was time for us to pack up and head home!

304

Today, after Morning Work Time and Morning Meeting, we had a visit from a technician from a microphone company. All of the classrooms at Burroughs have been equipped with a sound projection system for the teachers to use - the amplification will enable us to use a smaller voice and still be heard all over the classroom. We learned all about how it works, and then we got to try it out. We then read a book before our Writer's Workshop - Edward and the Pirates by David McPhail. We talked about how the boy in the book got so into the book that he was reading that they seemed to be real. Then we got to writing, and tried to make our writing as real as the writing in the book. After that, we headed up to the music room for our time there with Mr. Hofmann.

When we got back down to our room, we continued writing, since the kids were really on a roll. By that time it was time to pack up and head home!

Today, after Morning Work Time and Morning Meeting, we had Writer's Workshop. Today the kids learned about extending stories, as well as about sequencing again (making sure that stories follow a logical chronological sequence). After writing, we had math - we are wrapping up our unit on addition and subtraction. Today we 'discovered' strategies for counting the number of kids in class, and then extended that to counting the number of noses, mouths, and other body parts that each person only has one of. We then 'discovered' ways to count how many eyes, ears, nostrils (and other parts that come in twos) we have in the class.

After math, we had a short Choice Time. After Choice Time, we had Catalyst class with Ms. Bechtel. The kids got to experiment with the K*NEX blocks (they look like this). Needless to say, they were very creative and enjoyed themselves greatly.

When we finished with that, we had just enough time to pack up and head home.

Today, after Morning Work Time and Morning Meeting, we opened three Flat Stanley packages that arrived - one for Ryan E. from New Jersey, one for Sean from Chicago, and one for Anthony from several places. After Flat Stanley, we had Writer's Workshop. Today I taught a mini-lesson about sequencing - making sure that the kids' stories go in (roughly) chronological order. It's a topic that we will return to in the comign days, certainly.

After Writer's Workshop, we headed up to the Media Center for our time there with Mrs. Hennen. When we got back down to our classroom, we had our reading guest, Ms. Barb back again. She read two books, both by Eve Bunting: The Memory String and I Have an Olive Tree.

When we finished with the reading, it was time to pack up and head home.

Today, after Morning Work time and a very short Morning Meeting, we had some more project time. We finihsed it all up, and, yes, it's still a bit of a secret. We worked hard, and the kids did some really nice work, I think. After that, we cleaned up and went outside to the baseball diamond behind the school, as Mr. Fairbanks (the art teacher) had made an open invitation to the whole school to come outside and see a guest artist from Augsburg College do some pottery firing. he was using a technique called Raku, which is from Japan. For more information on it, click here or here. We got to see the finished product from one of the firings, and we also got to see them put some more pottery into a special super-high temperature kiln. We'll see he rest of the finished products next week, I think.

After the mini-art demonstration, we headed up to the computer lab for our time there. When we got back down to our room, we had a short end-of-the-week Choice Time. Then, it was time to head on home - enjoy your weekend!!!!

Today, after Morning Work Time and Morning Meeting, we celebrated Zarah's birthday (Happy Birthday, Zarah!). She brought in her parents (thanks!) to read Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs to us. Then we started working on a project that um, we still can't tell the world about. It was pretty fun, and it involved many steps, which was fun too. After that, we went up to the music room for our time there with Mr. Hofmann.

Wen we got back down to the room, we finished up the project that we started, and also watched a video about losing teeth (and how to take care of the teeth that we have) - it came in Leah's Flat Stanley mail a couple of weeks ago, and we are finally getting around to watching it (plus, we got to eat the yummy cupcakes that Zarah brought in for her birthday treat). After all of that, it was time to pack up and go home!

Today, after Morning Work Time and Morning Meeting, we had a short review session - to recap some of the math and reading skills that we have covered thus far this year - counting, rhyming, letter sounds, and the like. After that, we worked on a little project that, um, we can't really talk about just yet. We also worked on our May calendar, and the kids filled in the numbers of the days of the month. Their numeral writing has really improved!

After that, we cleaned up and had a short time outside on the playground - what a beautiful day! when we got back inside, we headed up to the computer lab for our time there. after all of that, it was time to pack up and go home!

Remember that tomorrow is crazy hat day at school, and also that the all-school picnic is tomorrow evening. Also, look for your child's red folder today - I forgot to send them yesterday.

Today, after Morning Work Time and Morning Meeting, we had Writer's Workshop. We reviewed the several ways that we have learned about that writers make their writing easier for their readers to read. Then the kids went to write. After their writing time, each student shared what the most important thing that they did to make their writing easier for their reader to read.

After Writer's Workshop, we had Reader's Workshop. The kids did buddy reading today, in which the read their "just-right" books with a partner.

After Reading, we had a short Choice Time, and then Ms. Bechtel came to our room for Catalyst class.

After all of that, it was time for us to pack up and go home!


P.S. If it was someone in this class who dropped off some lovely flowers yesterday, thank you very much - they are beautiful!

Today we pretty much focused on making May Day baskets. The kids made cone-shaped baskets and then put tissue-paper flowers in them. We also went to the computer lab, and on our way back down delivered some baskets (VERY secretly) to a couple of specialist teachers in the building.

Enjoy your weekend - remember that there is no school for students on Monday!